Stabilized concrete mix and method of use thereof



Jan. 30, 1962 J. B. BRUGMANN STABILIZED CONCRETE MIX AND METHOD OF USETl-IEREOF Filed Dec. 30. 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. (fay/v B.BQI/EMAA/N BY Z 4 g flag A rraeA/E VJ United States Patent 3,018,880STABILIZED CONCRETE MIX AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF John B. Brugmann, LaHabra, Calif., assignor to San Gabriel Ready Mixed, Pasadena, Cali, acorporation of California Filed Dec. 30, 1957, Ser. No. 706,053 22Claims. (Cl. 206-47) The present invention relates generally topgckaging w and more particularly to a package of stabilized concretemix ingredients utilizing a novel container, and a method of usetherefor.

It is common practice in the construction industry to use power methodsof mixing concrete in order to avoid high labor costs. As a result ofthis practice, an extremely high investment in capital equipment isrequired. In order to efficiently utilize this equipment, it isdesirable to closely coordinate its movement during delivery and pouringof the concrete to avoid any idleness of the machinery and laborinvolved.

For example, the delivery of concrete by transit mix trucks, deliverytime is the essence of efficient, economical operation from thestandpoint of the concrete user, particularly in large projects. Anydelay in delivery results in enforced idleness of the machinery andlabor of the user with consequent financial loss. Furthermore, concreteusers typically demand delivery of transit mix concrete early in the dayto utilize daylight for the pouring operation. These and other factorsmust be taken into consideration because of the unstable nature of thewet batch concrete so that the entire operation must be closelyscheduled and coordinated.

Many of the demands of the user are inconsistent with efiicient use ofequipment by the transit mix supplier. His trucks are tightly scheduledand he must have enough trucks to meet the peak demand of the early partof the day. In the slack parts of the day much of the suppliersequipment, including the batching plant and trucks, is idle andunproductive.

Similar problems are involved in the dry batch method of layingconcrete. This method also involves the timing and coordination of manypieces of rolling equipment in delivering the dry batch for mixing atthe site. Additionally, both of these methods share the disadvantagethat they do not afford as close a control over the quality of the finalproduct as is desirable. Modern concrete mixing is an art, bestpracticed at a central batching plant where materials can be carefullychosen for their adaptability to the specific purpose for which theconcrete is to be used so that the finished installation will conformexactly to specifications, no matter how large it is. It is well knownthat the portion of water in the batch can be critical, but in both thetransit mix and dry batch methods the control of the total moisturecontent of the batch is crude.

Conventional methods of handling concrete also make it difiicu-lt to fixresponsibility for the structural characteristics of the finalinstallation. Even though devices are commercially available fordetermining the moisture content of the fine and coarse aggregates to beused in a batch so that the correct amount of water to be added for adesired result can be deduced, there can be no assurance that the wetbatch at the time of pouring will have the desired total moisturecontent to meet a predetermined specification. Too many persons have,and take, an opportunity to alter the moisture content of a batch, eachaccording to his own judgment and, more often than not, with regard toease of handling rather than in consideration of structuralcharacteristics. Recognizing this, architects, engineers and buildingcodes specify greatly 3,018,880 Patented Jan. 30, 1962 overdesignedstructures to compensate for this possibility of human error. It hasheretofore been impractical for any of the persons involved to assurethat any desired volume of concrete will all conform to a slump test ofa desired consistency of concrete because of the factors mentionedabove.

An important object of my invention is to provide a method of concreteconstruction in which the total moisture content of the concrete can beeasily and carefully controlled whereby any desired specificationtherefor can be assured.

Another object of my invention is to provide a method of concreteconstruction utilizing packages of proportioned concrete mix ingredientsof any desired specification in stable form that can be prepared anddelivered well in advance to the construction site in readiness formixing at any time at the will of the user. The necessity of schedulingand coordinating the movements of many pieces of rolling equipment, suchas transit mixers or dry batch trucks, is thus eliminated and the costof concrete construction is accordingly reduced.

Another object of the invention is to provide a package of aproportioned concrete mix in stable form that can be readily transportedand stored, the package containinga compartment of binder material orcement and a compartment of filler material or aggregate in any desiredratio and the aggregate having a stabilized moisture content, in theform of either moisture absorbed and entrained in the sand and gravel oras added water. Any number of packages conforming to a desiredspecification can -be exactly duplicated at a batching plant fortransportation to a construction site at any convenient time, the use ofsuch packages insuring that the resulting installation will have uniformstructural characteristics conforming exactly to the desiredspecification. These packages have the further advantage that they canbe delivered to remote locations which are inaccessible to rollingequipment, the utility of the packages increasing with the distance ofthe construction site from the batching plant.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container adapted forthe transportation and storage of a moisture stabilized aggregate thatwill maintain a desired Yet another object of the present invention isto provide a container for a proportioned stable concrete mix having acement compartment and a moisture-proof aggregate compartment adaptedfor substantially concurrent discharge of their contents into a mixingapparatus in such a way that the aggregate and cement tend to mix orcommingle during their fall from the container.

The invention also has for an object thereof the provision of acontainer for stabilized concrete mix that is of a particularly ruggedconstruction and long service life, the container for this purposecomprising a plurality of interchangeable and replaceable fabric panelsarranged to define a bag of plural compartments.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dual compartmentcontainer having means to releasably close the compartment mouths forsubstantially simultaneous opening, the release mechanism being remotelycontrollable.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparentfrom the following description thereof when taken in conjunction withthe annexed drawing showing a presently preferred embodiment of acontainer for use with my invention.

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a presently preferred embodiment of acontainer for use with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial elevational view on a reduced scale showing theappearance of the mouth of the container in FIGURE 1 when closed;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 33 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3a is a partial sectional view of the area 311 of FIGURE 3 andparticularly showing the manner of supporting a seam of themoisture-proof liner of the aggregate compartment on a seam of thepartition wall of the container;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the month end of thecontainer of FIGURE 1 and particularly showing the manner in which theupper end rings are connected to the container;

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view on an enlarged scale of the area 5of FIGURE 3 and particularly showing the seam construction and manner ofconnection of the container and liner;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of one of the replaceablepanels of the container of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is an elevational view on reduced scale showing the containerof FIGURE 1 in use;

FIGURE 8 is an elevational view on an enlarged scale of a portion of thebag-closing means; and

FIGURE 9 is a side view taken in the direction of the arrow 9 of FIGURE8 showing details of the bag release means.

In carrying out the invention I provide an aggregate of sand and gravelor any other aggregate ingredients whose moisture content is stabilizedby packaging the aggregate in a moisture-proof container. The W mgismreare proportioned to any desired speci cation for mixing with a desiredproportion of cementitious material. For convenience of use, theaggregate and cement are put up in a single package which provides amoistureproof, scalable compartment for the aggregate and a separatecompartment for the cement, the compartments being adapted togravitationally discharge through separate adjacent mouths when thecontainer is suspended in inverted position.

A container 10 of the foregoing type is shown in the drawings andpreferably takes the form of a fabric bag of truncated substantiallyovoid configuration that opens upwardly to the apex end of the bag. Aninterior partition 12 divides container 10 into a cement compartment 14and an aggregate compartment 16 both of which can be filled and emptiedthrough the mouth of container 10. The aggregate compartment 16 isprovided with a wategproof liner 18 and a mechanical means 20 isprovided to close the container 10 whereby any penetration or loss ofmoisture into or from the aggregate chamber 16 is prevented and cementcompartment 14 is closed to the entrance of any foreign material. Means20 also serves to permit lifting of the container 10 and a ring 22 atthe opposite or bottom end of container 10 permits the container to besuspended in inverted position to gravitationally discharge itscontents.

Container 10 is made up, in part, of a plurality of fabric panels 24,one of which is shown in FIGURE 6. These panels are preferably made of atightly woven r t yl9p fa b rjc that is impreggge d igkavinyl "l pasiii:material in order to reinforce the fabric for successfully resistingwear due primarily to abrasion. A long service life for the container isthus achieved and the impregnation also serves to waterproof the fabricto prevent penetration of moisture through panels 24 into the completedcontainer 10.

Each of the panels 24 is generally elliptical in shape and the edgesthereof are bound lith a nylon tape magerial 26. I he taped longitudinaledges of the panel 24 have affixed thereto at spaced intervalstherealong a plurality of grommets 34 defining apertures for thereception of suitable lacing means and a plurality of transverselyextending reinforcing bands 25, also of a nylon tape material, arestitched or otherwise secured to panel 24.

The liner 18 is made up of a plurality of identical panels 28 of arubber-like material that is impervious to the passage of moisture.These panels 28 are also of generally elliptical configuration, but aresomewhat longer than the fabric panels 24, having substantiallyrectangular continuations formed therein at the upper end of each panel.While the fabric panels 24 are removably interconnected, the linerpanels 28 are assembled into an integral unit by vulcanizing the panelstogether along adjacent longitudinal edges thereof. The vulcanized seamsof liner 18 are provided with grommets 32 at spaced intervals therealongadapted to register with the grommets 34 of the taped edges of fabricpanels 24.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, it will be observed that container 10 isillustrated as being made up of eight of the fabric panels 24 and aliner 18 comprising six of the rubberlike panels 28. The exterior ofcontainer 10 is defined by six of the fabric panels 24, the other twofabric panels, indicated particularly by the reference characters 24aare interiorly disposed within the container. The aggregate compartment16 is accordingly defined by the two interior fabric panels 24a and fourexterior fabric panels 24, and in like manner the cement compartment 14is defined by the two interior fabric panels 24a and the remaining twofabric panels 24. The liner 18 is disposed in aggregate compartment 16with the vulcanized seams thereof sandwiched between adjacent edges ofthe outer fabric panels 24 while one vulcanized seam of liner 18 liesalongside the seam common to the two interior fabric panels 24a. All ofthe adjoining seams and edges of the fabric panels and liner 18 are thentightly tied together by suitable lacing 36, preferably of a nylonmaterial which is threaded through the aligned grommets 32 and 34, as isshown in detail in FIGURE 5 and generally in FIGURE 1.

In FIGURE 3 the partition 12 is indicated as being somewhat centrallydisposed so that the capacity of cement compartment 14 is approximatelyone-third the capacity of container 10 and the capacity of aggregatecompartment 16 is approximately two-thirds of the total capacity ofcontainer 10. It will be apparent that although this condition asdepicted in FIGURE 3 represents the maximum capacity of the cementcompartment 14, it by no means is representative of the maximum capacityof aggregate compartment 16. The several panels defining the partition12 being similar in configuration to the outer panels 24 are thusadapted to overlie the outer panels included in cement compartment 14,when the compartment 14 is empty so that substantially the entirecapacity of container 10 can be utilized for packaging aggregate.

The two interior fabric panels 24a and the two exterior panels 24 whichdefine the cement compartment 14, in addition to being laced togetheralong adjacent edges, are closely stitched together along the seamsthereof in a manner to prevent any sifting of cement through theseseams. In this connection it will be observed that all of these seamsare inverted relative to the interior of cement compartment 14 to avoidsuch penetration of the cement into the seams. The vulcanized seams ofthe liner 18 are also inverted relative to the interior of aggregatecompartment 16 so that the seam edges of the panels 28 will not beabraded by the action of the aggregate. Both of these seam arrangementsare particularly illustrated in FIGURE 3a.

When the fabric panels 24 have been assembled with the liner 18 disposedin aggregate compartment 16, a fabric collar 381's stitched to the upperedges of the panels 24 as shown in FIGURE 1 to define a mouth ofcontainer 10 which circularly encompasses a mouth 40 of liner 18 and amouth 42 of cement compartment 14. The mouth 40 is defined by theaforementioned integral continuations of the material of the linerpanels 28, also vulcanized together along adjacent edges to define atubular passage for the aggregate. The mouth 42 of cement compartment 14may conveniently be made of the same material as panels 24 stitched tothe collar 38 and panels 24a to define a foldable flap closure for thecompartment 14. The mouth 40 of liner 18 is of sutficient length to berolled over upon itself to define a fluid-tight seal for the liner 18.Both mouths 40 and 42, when folded over, are stuffed down into thecollar 38, which in turn may be folded over the mouths 40 and 42.

In order to maintain the compartment mouths 40 and 42 in closedcondition, the container opening is tightly drawn together in the mannerdepicted in FIGURE 2. For this purpose each of the fabric panels 24 inits upper end is provided with an eye member 44 held in place by thebight of a webbing 46 securely stitched to the panel 24. A length ofwire 48 is threaded through all of the eye members 44 and drawn into atight loop and knotted to prevent opening of container 10.

The ring 22 at the lower end of container 10, by means of whichcontainer can be supported in an inverted position, is fastened to thecontainer by threading all of the lacing 36 therethrough. When container10 is thus suspended as indicated in FIGURE 7, its contents can bedischarged by cutting of the wire 48 by means of the device best seen inFIGURES 8 and 9.

One of the eye members 44 has rigidly affixed thereto, as by welding, abifurcated member 50 that pivotally supports a cutter member 52 betweenthe arms thereof. Aligned bores 54 are formed in the arms of thebifurcated member to receive therethrough the wire 48. The free end ofthe cutter member 52 is provided with a lanyard or cord 58 that can bemanually pulled as indicated in FIGURE 7 whereby a sharpened edge 56 ofthe cutter 52 severs the wire 48, which under the weight of the concretemix contained in the container 10 springs apart whereby the mouths 42and 44 open downwardly to discharge the aggregate and cement into amixing device 60 indicated in phantom outline in FIGURE 7.

In use, the package of stabilized concrete mix is prepared at a batchingplant at which aggregate is placed in the compartment 16 and cementplaced in the compartment 14. Inasmuch as the partition 12 is movable,con siderable leeway is provided for variable ratios of aggregate tocement.

Prior to its placement in container 10 the moisture content of theaggregate is carefully determined, tagng g gg g i fiseahninmmab orbedmoistyre which will usual y be found in the fine aggregate as well asthe free moisture in excess of that absorbed by the aggregate pa trcles.With this information the additional water to be added to the entirepackage of concrete mix can readily be determined and either added tothe container 10 at the batching plant or added in the mixing device atthe construction site. In either event the immediate sealing of theaggregate compartment 16 after its loading insures that an accuratecontrol over the moisture content of the batch is achieved. Thus, if itis desired to add water on the job a suitable placard may be attached tocontainer 10 indicating the proper amount of water to be added in themixer with the contents of container 10 to achieve the desiredspecification.

Once the container 10 has been loaded and closed it may be stored andtransported to the construction site at any convenient time well inadvance of actual mixing time without any danger that the character ofits contents will be changed by loss of moisture through evaporationfrom the aggregate or the absorption of any moisture from any sourceexternal to container 10. At the site the container 10 may be invertedby connecting any suitable crane hook to the ring 22 and the contentsdischarged by pulling on the cord 58. The contents will then dischargethrough the mouths 40 and 42 to achieve ribbon feeding of aggregate andcement in suitable proportions, the aggregate and cement tending tocommingle or intermix as they fall into the mixer hopper.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment containerfor the practice of my invention, it will be evident to those skilled inthe art that my method and apparatus are susceptible of variations andchanges in accordance with the principles set forth herein and theclaims annexed hereto.

I claim:

1. A package of a moisture stabilized aggregate for use in makingconcrete comprising: a predetermined amount of sand; and gravel wettedby a predetermined amount of water; and a container made of a pliablewaterproof material enclosing said sand, gravel, and water and havingmeans through which said aggregate of sand, gravel and water can beintroduced and evacuated, said container when said means is closeddefining a moisture-proof enclosure whereby a predetermined ratio ofsand, gravel, and water is maintained.

2. A package of moisture stabilized aggregate for use in making concretecomprising: a predetermined amount of sand; a predetermined amount ofgravel; a predetermined amount of water wetting said sand and gravel; areusable collapsible container made of a flexible material adapted toresist abrasion by aggregate for enclosing aggregate comprising saidsand, gravel, and water and having an opening for the introduction anddischarge of said aggregate; means associated with said container toprevent the passage of moisture through said container; means forselectively closing said container opening to completely surround saidaggregate and to define with said first-mentioned means a completemoisture'proof enclosure for said aggregate to preserve a predeterminedratio of said sand, gravel, and water; and means on said container forsuspending said package in manipulating it to discharge said aggregatewhen said container is opened.

3. A package of a moisture stabilized aggregate for use in makingconcrete comprising: a predetermined amount of sand; a predeterminedamount of gravel; a predetermined amount of water; a reusable containermade of a pliable material for transportably supporting said aggregate;a liner for said container made of a pliable material adapted towithstand abrasion by said sand and gravel and impermeable to thepassage of moisture and having a closeable mouth coincident with anopening of said container through which aggregate comprising said sand,gravel and water can be introduced and discharged, said mouth whenclosed making of said container and liner a moisture-proof enclosure tomaintain a predetermined ratio of sand, gravel, and water duringtransportation and storage of said aggregate; and means on saidcontainer to secure a purchase on said package for manipulating itduring discharging thereof.

4. A package for use in making concrete comprising: a predeterminedamount of an aggregate material of predetermined moisture content; apredetermined amount of a cementitious material; and transportablecontainer means releasably enclosing said materials in adjacentwaterproof compartments for substantially concurrent discharge whenadjacent mouths formed in said compartments are opened.

5. A package of a preproportioned, stabilized concrete mix comprising: apredetermined amount of an aggregate of sand, gravel, and moisture in apredetermined ratio; a predetermined amount of cement; a waterproofcompartment releasably enclosing said aggregate that when closed isimpermeable to the passage of moisture to preserve said predeterminedratio; a compartment releasably enclosing said cement; meansinterconnecting said compartments in single package relationship forstorage and transportation as a unit with selectively closable dischargeopenings formed in said compartments and disposed adjacent one another;and means on said package to suspend said compartments for substantiallyconcurrent discharge of their contents through their adjacent openingswhereby said aggregate and cement tend to commingle during discharge.

6. A preproportioned, concrete mix comprising: a predetermined amount ofan aggregate of sand, gravel, and moisture in a predetermined ratio; apredetermined amount of cement; a resuable collapsible container made ofa flexible material having an interior partition dividing said containerinto an aggregate compartment and a cement compartment enclosing saidaggregate and cement respectively, said partition defining a mouth forsaid aggregate compartment and a mouth for said cement compartment withan opening of said container; a pliable liner for said aggregatecompartment that is impermeable to the passage of moisture and adaptedto withstand abrading and puncturing by said aggregate; means forreleasably closing the mouth of said cement compartment; means forreleasably closing the mouth of said aggregate compartment that whenclosed defines with said liner a moisture-proof enclosure for saidaggregate to maintain a predetermined ratio of sand, gravel, andmoisture during transportation and storage of said package; and means onsaid container by which it can be manipulated to gravitationallydischarge said aggregate and cement from the adjacent mouths of saidcompartments.

7. A container for a stabilized concrete mix comprising: a collapsibleupwardly opening bag of a material adapted to withstand abrasion by anaggregate including gravel and to prevent bursting of said bag whencontaining aggregate and dropped, and including a partition in said bagdividing the interior thereof into a cement compartment and an aggregatecompartment, both of which can be loaded and unloaded through theopening of said bag; means associated with said aggregate compartment toprevent the escape of moisture therefrom when said bag is closed wherebyto preserve a predetermined moisture content of aggregate containedtherein; releasable means for closing the opening of said bag; means forreleasing said last-mentioned means from a position remote from said bagopening and means to suspend said bag in inverted position togravitationally discharge the contents of said compartments when saidbag-closing means is released.

8. A concrete mix container comprising: a collapsible upwardly-openingbag of a pliable waterproof fabric material; a partition in said bagdividing the interior thereof into a cement compartment and an aggregatecompartment, both of which can be loaded and unloaded with cement andaggregate respectively through the opening of said bag; a moisture-proofliner in said aggregate compartment having a mouth portion in said bagopening that can be releasably closed to preserve the moisture contentof aggregate contained therein and made of an elastomeric materialadapted to withstand abrasion by said aggregate, said liner and bagbeing adapted to prevent bursting thereof in response to dynamic andstatic stresses imposed thereon by cement and aggregate containedtherein; means for releasably closing the mouth of said cementcompartment for completely enclosing cement contained therein; means forreleasably closing the opening of said bag that maintains the mouth ofsaid liner and the mouth of said cement compartment in fluidsealedclosed condition and that can be released from a position remote fromsaid bag; and means to suspend said bag in inverted position togravitationally discharge the contents of said compartments when saidbag-closing means is released.

9. A reusable concrete mix container comprising: a collapsible bag ofsubstantially ovoid configuration made of a flexible waterproof materialhaving a truncated apex portion defining an upwardly opening end of saidbag; a partition in said bag made of a flexible material to define apair of expandable compartments of said bag to accommodate variableproportions of aggregate and cement, said partition dividing the openingin the upper end of said bag into months for each of said compartments:a liner of a moisture-proof sheet material and made cf an elastomericmaterial adapted to withstand abrasion by said aggregate, said liner andbag being adapted to prevent bursting thereof in response to dynamic andstatic stresses imposed thereon by cement and aggregate containedtherein in one of said compartments having a tubular mouth portionextending upwardly through the mouth of said compartment that can befolded to completely close said liner whereby the moisture content ofaggregate contained therein is maintained constant; at least one flap offlexible material for closing the mouth of the other of saidcompartments to prevent any loss of cement contained therein; means forreleasably drawing together the edge of said bag opening to maintain themouth of said liner and said flap in compartment closing position; andmeans by which to support said bag for gravitational discharge of itscontents when said compartments are opened.

10. A device as set forth in claim 9 in which said bag and partition aremade of a plurality of identical panels of said material secured to oneanother along the longitundinally extending margins thereof, saidpartition comprising a plurality of said panels adapted for selectivemovement to contacting superposition on a plurality of panels of saidbag so that an empty one of said compartments can be collapsed.

11. A device as set forth in claim 9 in which said liner is made of aplurality of identical panels of said material secured to one anotheralong the longitudinally extending margins thereof, the marginal seamsof said panels of said liner and of said bag and partition beinginverted relative to said compartments to prevent damage thereto fromthe contents of said compartments.

12. A concrete mix container comprising: a bag of substantially ovoidconfiguration made of a plurality of identical fabric panels secured toone another along longitudinally extending margins thereof, said bagopening upwardly through a truncated apex portion thereof; a partitionin said bag made of at least one of said panels to define a pair ofcompartments in said bag, said partition dividing the opening of saidbag into a mouth for each of said compartments; a liner in one of saidcompartments made of a plurality of panels of a rubber-like materialvulcanized together along the longitudinally extending edges thereof andhaving a tubular mouth portion extending upwardly through the mouth ofsaid compartment that can be folded to completely close said linerwhereby the moisture content of aggregate contained therein ismaintained constant; at least one flap of a flexible material forclosing the mouth of the other of said compartments to prevent any lossof cement contained therein; a ring secured to the upper edge of each ofsaid bag panels whereby a wire can be passed through said rings to drawtogether the edges of said panels defining the opening of said bag tomaintain the mouth of said liner and said flap in compartment closingposition when said wire is tied; means from which to suspend said bag ininverted position in order to discharge its contents for mixing; andcutter means on one of said rings to shear said wire to permit openingof said bag and its compartments to gravitationally discharge thecontents of said bag.

13. A device as set forth in claim 12 in which said bag panels aresecured to one another along their margins by laces, said laces alsointercepting suitable apertures formed in the margins of said linerpanels to support said liner in one of said compartments.

14. In the process of concrete construction the steps of segregating anaggregate comprising coarse and fine aggregates in a predeterminedratio, measuring the moisture content of said aggregate and maintainingsaid moisture content constant until the use of said aggregate.

15. In the process of concrete construction that includes the steps ofsegregating a quantity of an aggregate material, measuring the quantityof free and absorbed moisture in said segregated aggregate material,adding to said segregated aggregate material an additional quantity ofmoisture to provide the balance of moisture needed to achieve a desiredratio of aggregate 9 and moisture and maintaining the total moisturecontent of said segregated aggregate constant until use of saidaggregate and moisture.

16. In the process of making concrete at a point remote from the sourceof the ingredients thereof the steps of segregating in portablecompartments predetermined portions of aggregate and cement, saidaggregate having a predetermined amount of moisture therein; closing andtransporting said compartments to said remote point without substantialloss of said moisture, and emptying and commingling the contents of saidcompartments into a mixer while adding such water as may be required.

17. The process of making concrete as defined in claim 16 in which theaggregate and cement are separated in said compartments duringtransportation in a common container, and said commingling isaccomplished by causing the aggregate and cement to flow injuxtaposition from the same end of said container.

18. In the process of making concrete at a point remote from the sourceof the ingredients thereof the steps of segregating a predeterminedportion of aggregate with a predetermined moisture content; transportingsaid portion to said remote point; controlling said moisture contentduring said transportation and until the time of use of said portion;and thereafter mixing said aggregate with proper amount of otheringredients to produce concrete of the requisite characteristics.

19. In the process of making a batch of concrete at a point remote fromthe source of the ingredients thereof the steps of measuring themoisture content of the aggregate portion of said batch and sealing saidaggregate portion against any appreciable change in moisture content inthe interim between said measurement and the introduction of saidportion into a mixer into which the other ingredients of said batch toproduce concrete of the desired characteristics are also introduced.

20. In the process of making a batch of concrete at a point remote fromthe source of the ingredients thereof the steps of measuring themoisture content of the aggregate portion of said batch, sealing saidaggregate portion against any appreciable change in moisture content inthe interim between said measurement and the introduction of saidportion into a mixer, packaging said sealed aggregate portion in acommon container with the cement portion of said batch, andsubstantially hermetically sealing said package to protect its contentsuntil introduction into said mixer into which the other ingredients ofsaid batch are also introduced to produce concrete of the desiredcharacteristics.

21. In the process of making a batch of concrete at a point remote fromthe source of the ingredients thereof the steps of measuring themoisture content of the aggregate portion of said batch, addingsufiicient water to said aggregate portion to supply the total waterrequirement of said batch, and sealing said aggregate portion and wateragainst any appreciable change in ratio in the interim between saidaddition of water and the introduction of said aggregate portion andwater into a mixer into which other ingredients of said batch to produceconcrete of the desired characteristics are also introduced.

22. An article of manufacture comprising predetermined segregatedportions of a moist aggregate and cement in a waterproof package that isinteriorly divided into waterproof compartments to prevent said portionof cement segregated in one compartment from hygroscopically absorbingmoisture from said portion of aggregate segregated in the othercompartment until said package is opened.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS327,255 Haaf Sept. 29, 1885 647,294 Cropley Apr. 10, 1900 1,357,496Grundy Nov. 2, 1920 1,733,410 Johnson Oct. 29, 1929 1,897,910 MalvemFeb. 14, 1933 1,904,906 Titcomb Apr. 18, 1933 1,934,701 Edwards Nov. 14,1933 1,940,221 Miller Dec. 19, 1933 1,975,253 Connolly Oct. 2, 19342,074,758 Reynolds Mar. 23, 1937 2,245,738 Taylor June 17, 19412,374,397 Wagner Apr. 24, 1945 2,380,134 Waters July 10, 1945 2,594,235Taylor Apr. 22, 1952 2,609,880 Dyer Sept. 9, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS384,811 Great Britain Dec. 15, 1932 454,705 Great Britain Oct. 6, 1936752,936 Great Britain July 18, 1956 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICECERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N0v 3 Ol8 88O I January 3O 1962 John BoBrugmenn It is hereby certified that error appears in the'above numberedpatent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent shouldoreadas corrected below.

Column 6, line 6 afteP "sand" strike out the semicolon; llne 18 after"Pensable" insert a comma; column 7 line 35 after "opening" insert asemicolono Signed and sealed this 5th day of June 1962a (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

1. A PACKAGE OF A MOISTURE STABLIZED AGGREGATED FOR USE IN MAKINGCONCRETE COMPRISING: A PREDETERMINED AMOUNT OF SAND; AND GRAVEL WETTEDBY A PREDETRMINED AMOUNT OF WATER; AND A CONTAINER MADE OF A PLIABLEWATERPROOF MATERIAL ENCLOSING SAID SAND, GRAVEL, AND WATER AND HAVINGMEANS THROUGH WHICH SAID AGGREGATE OF SAND, GRAVEL AND